«Dilectissimo fratri Caesario Symmachus»
From Arles to Rome: the relics of St. Caesarius, treasure of early Christian Gaul (T.N.)

Volume available in Italian and French, published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name, curated by the Vatican Museums in collaboration with the departmental Museum of Arles antique and with the patronage of the French Embassy to the Holy See.

It focuses on the figure of St. Caesarius, bishop of Arles, the “beloved brother” upon whom Pope Symmachus imposed the episcopal pallium, reflecting the strong spiritual relationship between the Provençal town and the Roman Church. This ancient bond is celebrated here, in parallel with the aims of the exhibition, mainly through the history of the cult of the saint, but also retracing the historical events regarding the Christianisation of Gaul in the early Christian period, analysing the practice of the veneration of relics and proposing several comparisons between findings.

The catalogue of works from the Vatican’s Pio-Christian Museum and the Museum of Arles is richly illustrated with photographs. It offers iconographic and stylistic descriptions, information regarding constitutive materials, dimensions, dates, collocation and catalogue numbers, as well as technical notes on the restoration of the works on display: the recently restored textile relics of St. Caesarius – the tunic, the ivory belt buckle, the leather shoes and two wool pallia – scrolls, oil lamps, the statuette of the Good Shepherd and fragments of sarcophagi and reliquaries.